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News: Tigers closer Jose Valverde left Tuesday's game against the White Sox in the ninth inning with what manager Jim Leyland called lower back tightness. He could be seen wincing after throwing a 2-1 pitch to Alex Rios and was removed after being checked out by a trainer. Octavio Dotel replaced Valverde on the mound. Valverde gave up two hits with one strikeout and a walk over two-thirds of an inning before the early exit. Dotel allowed two of his inherited runners to score, raising Valverde's ERA to 5.51. "His lower back just tightened up, that's why we had to get him out of there," Leyland said. "Right now it's lower back tightness. Just got to keep our fingers crossed on Jose. I think it's all right."
Analysis: Valverde appears to avoided a serious injury but owners will definitely want to keep an eye on his status going forward to see if he will miss any time. The right-hander has converted 56 of 58 save chances dating back to last season and should be considered a solid option in Fantasy when healthy. Dotel and Joaquin Benoit will likely see saves chances if Valverde misses an extended period of time.
News: Philadelphia starter Vance Worley will be unable to start on Wednesday at Chicago due to arm soreness, reports CSN Philadelphia on Tuesday. Worley will remain in Philadelphia to have his soreness checked and the Phillies do not yet know if they will skip him altogether, DL him or just push him back. Kyle Kendrick is set to take Wednesday's start. Worley is not worried, reports MLB.com.
Analysis: Worley could end up going on the disabled list as the team reportedly sent for Joe Savery from Triple-A Lehigh Valley as a precautionary measure in case they needed to make a move. He's definitely missing his Wednesday start and that puts a possible two-start Week 8 (May 21-27) in jeopardy as well. Stay tuned for more news and information as to the severity of the injury. Kendrick is an NL-only Fantasy option for the spot start.
News: Yankees relief pitcher David Robertson was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a strained left oblique. An MRI taken Tuesday morning revealed the issue and he is expected to be sidelined until at least the end of May. Robertson, 27, has been dealing with the issue over the past week and has not pitched since last Friday. He suffered his first loss two days before when he allowed his first runs of the season. Relief pitcher Cody Eppley was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take his place on the roster. Robertson believes he'll be able to return after the minimum DL stay.
Analysis: New York's once-stellar back-end of the bullpen is now down to one -- at least temporarily. Robertson, who was considered part of a two-man committee for saves after Mariano Rivera suffered a season-ending injury, has appeared in 15 games this season while posting a 2.51 ERA and one save in two chances. Rafael Soriano will now take over the closer role exclusively for the Yankees. Fantasy owners should leave Robertson reserved in all formats while tracking his health status over the next few weeks.
News: Twins first baseman Justin Morneau (wrist) will be activated from the 15-day DL prior to Wednesday's game against the Tigers. The Twins optioned first baseman Chris Parmelee to Triple-A Rochester after Tuesday's game against the Indians to clear a roster spot.
Analysis: It's good to see Morneau won't need an extended stint on the disabled list. We just hope that he doesn't suffer another setback with his wrist. Morneau wasn't playing at his former MVP level prior to getting hurt and might never get back to that level if he can't stay healthy. Still, Morneau is worth the flier in Fantasy since we know he has potential to be a high-end Fantasy option.
News: With Troy Tulowitzki already challenged to regain his superstar form on offense, the Colorado shortstop was thrown another obstacle Monday night. Tulowitzki -- and the Rockies -- got a scare in the eighth inning when he took a foul ball hit by teammate Dexter Fowler off the left leg while standing in the dugout. "Nothing was broken. Just hit me on the side of my knee," said Tulowitzki. "I'm not a doctor, but I guess there was tendon there and it's just kind of blown up a little bit and sore." Despite the injury, Tulowitzki remained in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Giants. He went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored in the 5-4 win.
Analysis: X-rays on Tulowitzki's knee were negative, but it looks as though he will be able to play through the injury. "All I can tell you is we dodged a serious bullet there," Colorado manager Jim Tracy said. "If that ball would have been a couple of inches left, it might have hit him right in the kneecap. We were really fortunate." Tulowitzki has slumped this month and has not homered since April 27 against the Mets, just his third of the season. Fantasy owners should continue to keep tabs on his health status but keep Tulowitzki active as long as he is in the lineup.
News: Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum failed to record a quality start for the third time in a row on Tuesday against the Rockies. He allowed four runs on seven hits over seven innings of work. The right-hander made it through his first three frames unscathed before giving up an RBI single to Troy Tulowitzki in the fourth. He surrendered two more runs in the sixth before Colorado invoked their final damage in the seventh. Lincecum was done after throwing 122 pitches, 80 for strikes, and left in line for the for the loss but luckily his teammates were able to battle back. Lincecum also struck out seven and walked three in the no-decision.
Analysis: Lincecum has given up fewer than three earned runs in just two of his outings thus far and his 5.77 ERA is well below his career 3.08 mark. A lot of that has to do with the fact that he has allowed 46 hits in 43 2/3 innings so keep an eye on his progress going forward. The two-time Cy Young winner should be able to get back on track sooner or later and is still posting impressive strikeout totals so keep Lincecum active in all Fantasy formats. His second start of Week 7 (May 14-20) is scheduled for Sunday against the A's. In two starts against Oakland a year ago, Lincecum went 1-1 with a 1.20 ERA, including throwing a complete game shutout.
News: CBSSports.com baseball insider Jon Heyman reports the Red Sox plan to demote Will Middlebrooks to Triple-A Pawtucket once Kevin Youkilis (back) is ready to come off the disabled list.
Analysis: This is certainly a somewhat shocking development seeing how Middlebrooks has proven he's ready for a full-time gig in the majors. It just seems as though the Red Sox don't want to move him or Youkilis to the outfield, so the only solution is to demote Middlebrooks so he can play every day in the minors. Youkilis took grounders Monday and will begin a rehab assignment Wednesday, so Middlebrooks' time in the majors might be running out. For now, he's worth starting in Fantasy, but a move to your bench is coming unless the Red Sox change their mind.
News: Rockies closer Rafael Betancourt entered Tuesday's series finale against the Giants in the ninth inning with a one-run lead. He gave up a one-out single and issued a two-out walk but was able to make it through the frame unscathed to secure the 5-4 win. Betancourt also struck out two while collecting his seventh save of the season.
Analysis: Betancourt collected his first save since April 25 on Tuesday and has made three straight scoreless appearances after blowing the save on May 2. He is now 7 for 8 in save chances and has struck out 15 in 14 innings pitched. While the Rockies have struggled to wins games thus far, the right-hander is on pace for a career campaign so continue to view Betancourt as a viable option in deeper mixed leagues.
News: Giants reliever Santiago Casilla entered Tuesday's series finale against the Rockies in the ninth inning with the game tied 4-4. The right-hander surrendered a leadoff home run to Marco Scutaro before retiring the next two batters. He was then pulled for Javier Lopez. Unfortunately, his teammates were unable to mount a rally in the bottom of the inning and Casilla took the loss in the 5-4 defeat. It was the second loss of the season for Casilla.
Analysis: Casilla allowed just his third earned run of the season on Tuesday as he was burned by the long ball. He is expected to continue to see save chances in San Francisco, however, so owners need not worry. He has converted 8 of 9 save opportunities thus far so continue to view Casilla as a viable option in deeper mixed leagues.
News: Diamondbacks closer J.J. Putz tossed a scoreless inning of relief in Tuesday night's contest against the Dodgers. Putz came on in the ninth inning and retired three of the four batters he faced in the non-save situation. He needed only 11 pitches to get through the frame and lowered he lowered his ERA to 8.18 after his outing.
Analysis: While there was no save on the line Tuesday night, manager Kirk Gibson wanted to get the veteran some work. Putz has only made four appearances in May and two of them haven't gone so well as he was tagged for a combined six earned runs in those appearances. However, as long as he continues to get the call when the game is one the line, Putz will continue to have value in most mixed formats. Leave him active in the majority of formats moving forward.
